


Catch Your Eye

by ErisBaek



Category: Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, Bad at tagging, Davey is a Professor, Fluff and Angst, I am really, Jack calls Davey "old man", Jack is a student, Kath and Specs is an underated ship, M/M, eventual smutty times but like nothing too graphic cause I suck at writing it, hockey player jack because I just decided I needed that shit in my life, really - Freeform, slight age gap (four years), theres more newsies I just got lazy naming them all
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-06
Updated: 2020-04-16
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:42:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23503303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ErisBaek/pseuds/ErisBaek
Summary: David is the newest member of the Journalism department at NYU. He's just trying to make sure not only administration, but his students like him as well. Enter art senior and hockey forward, Jack Kelly, who starts to make the easy life of a professor a bit more difficult.
Relationships: David Jacobs/Jack Kelly, Katherine Plumber/Specs (Newsies), Spot Conlon/Racetrack Higgins
Comments: 9
Kudos: 22





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Ya yeet. I had this idea for a hot second and I have finally wrote the first chapter. Chapters will vary in length because certain events I have thought out will take longer than others to write. I'm not sure how often I will update, as I am also working on my Mandalorian story at the same time, but I will TRY MY BEST.
> 
> As I write, I imagine Livesies Newsies in my head, as I am more attuned to that one. Therefor, personalities as well will be based off Livesies more than 92sies as well.  
> Comments are appreciated! I love, love, love reading them and may or may not interact because I am a shy bean!

The coffee was scolding, as David forced himself to take a sip, the black liquid burning his tongue, the bitter taste lingering and spreading warmth through him as he hustled across campus, briefcase in hand. It was the week of midterms at NYU, and the tense air that clinged across every expanse of campus was suffocating. Everywhere he looked, students were hustling to their next classes, heads down, solemn. David knew they were tired. He knew his own class was tired - his History of Journalism class.   
It was his first year as a professor at the college, and not only the staff, but the students themselves have been treating him amazingly well. He remembered the first day, the nerves that almost got the best of him, but when the students began to filter in, bright eyed and ready for the start of a new semester; he found himself relaxing. And as the days went on, and he found that he had a wonderful group of people sitting every day for him, he relaxed even more.   
It was all he ever wanted, so why did his life still feel so uneventful? Empty?

“Hey, Professor Jacobs!” Came the trill of a familiar voice, and David slowed his quick stride, glancing back behind him.   
Approaching him was Katherine Plumber, one of his students, clad in a gray pea-coat with her red curls bouncing against her shoulders as she rushed up to meet him. He couldn’t help but raise a brow at her, as she took deep breaths to ease her lungs, before she spoke.

“Please,” she began in a determined voice, “give me some advice on the midterm paper.”   
That summoned a laugh out of David, and he could feel the corners of his eyes crinkling at the question. Inclining his head, he motioned for her to follow him into the building, to escape the gradual cold of November. 

“With the way you were running at me, I thought something was wrong!” David told her once they were in the heat of the literature building, both slowing in stride as they made their way to his classroom.   
“What are you having trouble with, Kath?” A nickname, for one of his favourite students.    
The weird thing about being a first year professor is that David was so close in age to many of his students. Some were even older than him. When they treated him so formally, he felt weird, but sometimes - if he was too casual with them,  _ they  _ felt weird. There was no win, win, so David tried his best to tow a middle ground.   
With Katherine, however, David felt at ease. She spent a lot of time talking with him after classes, and gradually they became somewhat friends - and she had made the personal request for him to use the nickname to which he now almost exclusively referred to her by. 

“Do you have a preference for what kind of groundbreaking historical event you want us to write about?” Katherine asked, giving her best hopeful look in David’s direction, which only garnered a scoff and a swift shake of his head.  
“The whole point is for  _ you  _ to choose a major event in journalism history, and explain why you chose it. If I give you what I’d prefer to read about, that would negate a good portion of the essay,” he simply told her, giving her a pointed look which only earned him a frown. 

“So much for you being my favourite professor,” She grumbled at his side, raising her arms up to cross over her chest.  
David sputtered at the comment, trying to defend the fact that he was only being fair to the other students, but there was no use, Katherine’s attention was already elsewhere. He watched as she bid him a quick ‘see you in class!’ before she strode up ahead, meeting up with two people. 

David took in the sights of the other students, who must be in a different department because he had never seen them much around these halls. Both were guys, who stood and waited for Katherine to approach. One had dirty blond hair, and a crooked grin that just spelled trouble, while the other - well, David hated to admit it, peaked his interest a bit too much. Even at the distance, he could tell the man was a looker, for lack of better term. He had a head of full, dark brown hair, with a nice tan that seemed natural. Broad shoulders fitted into his flannel that lay unbuttoned, a white t-shirt underneath. David knew he was staring too long, but he continued to trail his gaze upwards, to the sharp jawline, the full lips, and finally - were those brown eyes staring back at him?   
A sound of embarrassed surprise left David’s lips when his eyes caught the other man’s, and he was greeted with a raised eyebrow and a smug grin that did nothing to stop the heat from rising to his face. Quickly, before he could make an even bigger fool of himself, he rushed the final few steps it took before disappearing inside of his classroom. Once the door clicked securely closed behind him, he breathed out a heavy sigh.

“Davey, you dumbass,” he spoke to himself, walking down the pathway that led to his desk. Rows of desks sat empty - class wouldn’t begin for another thirty minutes. Laying down his briefcase, he set out his notes for the day and went to writing a vague outline of the lesson on the board.  
It was with a sudden jolt, that his memory supplied him all too casually with the fact that he had just checked out a student. The marker that had once been in his hand went clattering to the tiled floor below, and he let out a groan, leaning his head forward against the coolness of the whiteboard.

He had just made eyes at a  _ student.  _ Not only that, but a friend of one of his favourite students too. And Katherine would be in class in thirty minutes. If she confronted him about it, what would he do? He could play it off - say that it wasn’t what it seemed, that he had just never seen the kid before. But he had made  _ eye contact  _ with the guy. How long did he know David was staring? Could the ground come and swallow him up already?   
He knew midterm week was hell, but this was another story. 


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Does this feel rambly? I don't know.  
> My biggest problem with stories is pacing and I want to remind myself I don't need to include every conversation under the sun.
> 
> Anyway, comments are HIGHLY appreciated. I love reading them so, so, so much.  
> Also, come talk to me at tumblr @erisbaek !! Ask me questions about the story, or Newsies in general.  
> Please.  
> I need love.
> 
> Also Jack is gonna be a hockey player as well now because I love the idea and miss hockey.

Katherine’s eyes notably followed David’s every move about the classroom, as he shifted to and fro, talking about Hersh’s exposure of the My Lai Massacre. Her heavy brown gaze made it difficult to speak, causing David to trip over his words more than once. Finally, towards the end of class, he caught her eyes and gulped. That was a knowing stare if he had ever seen one, and David knew he was so screwed. 

Finally, the professor ended class with a light reading assignment, and wishing them luck on their papers due to him at the end of the week. As students began to filter out, he wasn’t surprised to see that Katherine had yet to move from her seat, and David swallowed the lump that suddenly formed in his throat, as he turned his back to begin packing up his briefcase to make a hasty exit.   
A hasty exit wouldn’t be granted to him today, as he heard the door shut one more time, before there was a deliberate clearing of someone’s throat - and David knew exactly who that was. 

He turned, blue eyes landing on the now standing Katherine, who leaned so casually against the desk she was previously seated in, arms crossed.  
“So,” she began, her usual chirper voice giving nothing away, “ a little birdie told me a certain professor was making eyes at him. He happened to describe that professor to me, and low and behold, I knew exactly who he was talking about! So, Professor Jacobs, my friend Jack wanted to know if you liked what you saw?” 

That is not quite what David was expecting Katherine to say, evident at the splutter he let out as he quickly turned his attention to his now packed away briefcase. Words weren’t coming to him, but how could they? He now knew the student’s name had been Jack, and he indeed had seen David looking. Caught in the act, and with Katherine’s smug expression that graced her features - David knew he had been made.   
“Now Kath,” he tried, licking his suddenly too dry lips, “I want you to know I didn’t mean to stare like I did. I-I just had never seen the guy before, and I was curious! Yeah, curious. Tell your friend I am  _ really  _ sorry. I didn’t…” David trailed off to catch his breath, words flying from his mouth too quickly for his lungs to handle, and in the time it took, Katherine pushed herself up off the desk and a step forward.  
The smug grin on her face made the hair at the back of David’s neck rise. What was she thinking?

“I didn’t ask you why you were staring, Davey,” Katherine used the nickname as an emphasis, and David knew it.    
“I asked you if you liked what you  _ saw, _ ” the last weird was met with a teasing tone, and David felt like he was being made fun of. How wrong would it be for him to answer? He was a first year professor for goodness sake! If this got back to the wrong people, he’d be screwed out of a job, or worse. 

“I don’t feel comfortable answering that question, Miss Katherine,” David informed, voice taking on a much too polite, and superficial tone, which surprised the lady standing before him, noticeable by the way the smug from slipped from her face almost immediately. 

Katherine’s arms dropped from their position over her chest, and she let out a woeful sigh.   
“We’re all adults, Dave. You’re not going to get into trouble. Jack told me he caught you staring, and because of how he is, he asked me if you liked what you were looking at,” she gave a shrug of her shoulders, as if the situation wasn’t anything to fret over.   
“At first he thought you were another student, but then he connected the dots with your briefcase, how you were dressed, and the fact you had a set of keys to open the classroom. He looked you up and down just like you did. I watched with my own eyes, Dave,” she assured, offering a quick, lighthearted laugh to ease a bit of the tension.  
“Don’t beat yourself up over it. Jack’s easy on the eyes, he knows it, I know it, anyone who has met him knows it. He wasn’t offended, and he thought you were nice on the eyes as well.”

David’s brain seemed to stumble at the notion that Jack thought  _ he  _ was attractive, as well. Katherine must’ve just been saying that. David thought back to Jack in the hallway, the sharp jawline, the ruffled dark hair, the brown eyes that seemed to hold mischief, but so much more within them.   
David was plain looking, at best, compared to him. Not only that, however, he was a  _ professor _ , typically older than the students he taught by at least a few years. 

“If you want to say sorry, and want to clear up that it was a misunderstanding - Jack is waiting for me in the hall. We meet up for lunch with other friends together,” Katherine’s voice broke through his thoughts, and David’s eyes snapped up to meet hers. She was genuine, simply gazing at David with a waiting smile, and all he could do was sigh in defeat. It was a bad idea. He knew it was a very, very bad idea, but he found himself picking up his suitcase and giving a nod.   
“Alright, alright. Lead the way,” he said and she let out a small giggle of triumph, before picking up her own things and leading the way up, and out the door of the classroom. David followed behind, pausing only to shut off the lights, and lock the door behind him.

When Katherine said Jack was waiting for her in the hall, he didn’t expect the other man to be  _ right there  _ the second the two stepped out of the room. He was leaning casually against the large window that shed light into the hallway, looking up when he heard the door click shut. He didn’t even glance Katherine’s way. No, of course his eyes met David’s immediately, and what could only be called a pleased smile stretched his lips and David was taken aback.

“You’se must be Professor Jacobs.”  
The thick, New York accent was not what David was expecting, causing him to blink a few times to get his bearings before he found his voice once more. He ducked his head down briefly, clearing his throat before looking up with what he hoped was a professional smile, not betraying the way his heart beat loudly within his chest.

“Yes, David Jacobs,” he reaffirmed Jack’s words, and held out a hand for the other to shake. Jack didn’t hesitate in partaking in the gesture, a tanned, strong hand flecked with orange and red paint taking a grip on David’s much paler, dainty hand and giving it a firm shake.   
“I’m Katherine’s History of Journalism professor. First year here at the University,” he explained, voice tumbling out a bit faster than he wanted, but the smile Jack gave him told him that the other didn’t seem to mind.   
“I, uh, wanted to apologise about earlier,” he began, watching as a brow of Jack’s hiked up in question. “It was wrong of me to stare, and I must have made you uncomfortable. I was out of line, and to be honest that’s out of character for me. It won’t happen again,” David assured, glancing over to where Katherine stood after he heard a smothered snort from her. He narrowed his eyes briefly, before his attention went back to Jack, who’s smile had disappeared - leaving David surprisingly remorseful that he had said anything. 

“Did Kath not relay my message to ya?” Jack asked, a quirk of his head to the side showing confusion. “I didn’ mind it Davey,” the way his nickname came so naturally to Jack was bizarre. Usually David didn’t let anyone but friends use it, but he found he didn’t mind the way it left Jack’s lips in that accent of his.   
“I thought you was a student when I first laid eyes, and I thought you was kinda cute, so I’m also at fault,” Jack admitted, “must’a been weird havin’ a student makin’ eyes at ya.”

David was quick to shake his head, accompanied by a hand wave.   
“No, no. You have nothing to apologise for!” He assured, voice coming out a bit louder, higher than he wanted to at Jack’s own admission that he thought David was cute.  
But his quick assurance put a smile right back on Jack’s face, and relief weighed down on David.

“That so?” Jack questioned, his eyebrow raising again and David felt heat rising at the back of his neck under that stare.”I do think you’se cute, Davey, so there ain’t any need for you to apologise to me for starin’, ‘cause I did it right back.”   
David should not be standing there with a pounding heart, as he let this student sweet talk him with a smooth voice, and even smoother chocolate brown eyes. The quirk of his lips hadn’t disappeared again, and David was glad. It softened the features on Jack’s face and made him more appealing.    
This was bad, this was very bad.

“Alright, you two,” Came Katherine’s voice, and David almost forgot she was there. He quickly looked over to her, where she stood with a soft smile of her own.  
“This apology is cute and all, but I am hungry, and my professor here also has a monster midterm paper for us to write - and I’d like to get it started.”  
That brought David out of whatever Jack related spell he had been under, as his eyes widened and he let out an incredulous noise.

“You mean you haven’t started it yet?” It took a lot of willpower to not shout the question, but Katherine didn’t hesitate to shake her head with a gleeful laugh, lacking any remorse.  
“Nope! I was hoping you would give me a hint about what you wanted to read, and then I was going to start. But I’m back to square one, without a bit of ink on the page!” She grinned, almost proud of herself and all David could do was let out a groan.

“I should have become an journalist, not a professor,” he woefully said to himself, and the sound of a deep, hearty laugh made his cheeks warm with a blush, as he looked to see Jack enjoying the exchange between student and professor.

“You’se gonna give the old man a heart attack, Kath,” Jack accused and David had half a mind to punch him at the insult.  
“Old man! Old man? I am twenty-eight years old. It is way too soon to be calling me that!” David complained, but the way Jack smiled made the professor feel like he just walked into a trap, set specifically for him.

“Well what do ya know. I’m twenty-four. Four years ain’t much, wouldn’t you say Kath?” Jack asked the lady, who nodded her head in agreement.  
“Not at all,” she agreed, and all David could do was gawk, ears and cheeks burning as he realised.  
Yes, yes he did walk right into a trap - and he was so, so screwed. 

**Author's Note:**

> you're more than welcome to interact with me on tumblr @erisbaek  
> I post a good bit of Newsies stuff there!


End file.
